WSDL-FM: Renee Montagne

In Britain Wednesday, media mogul Rupert Murdoch appears before a panel to testify about contacts with leading British politicians at a time when his News Corp. was trying to takeover broadcasting group BSkyB. On Tuesday, Murdoch's son appeared before the same panel.

We're going to hear now from a religious leader revered by Tibetan Buddhists and admired by countless others - the 14th Dalai Lama. A year ago he stepped down as the political leader of Tibet's government in exile to devote himself to spreading a spiritual message of compassion and peace. Still, he's been drawn into talking about violence since a wave of deadly protests swept through the Tibetan areas of China.

And one of baseball's better-known characters, with a knack for testing the boundaries of free speech, has created a controversy in the very first week of the season. Ozzie Guillen, new manager of the Miami Marlins, is holding a press conference today in Miami to apologize. It's all about some comments he made about Cuba's Fidel Castro. Joining us now is NPR sports correspondent Tom Goldman. Good morning.

Let's devote the next few minutes to the subject that President Obama began his press conference on, the U.S. housing market. The president pointed out that in many ways the U.S. economy is looking up. But...

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: There are still millions of Americans who can't find a job. There are millions more who are having a tough time making the rent or the mortgage, paying for gas or groceries. So our job in Washington isn't to sit back and do nothing. And it's certainly not to stand in the way of the recovery.